Effects of repeated retention tests on learning a single timing task

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility that administering an initial retention test would influence any subsequent retention tests administered to the same participants. Participants performed 40 practice trials of a four-segment key-pressing task with a movement time goal of 925 ms. Participants were then administered either two retention tests (Day 1-Day 1 group, 10 min and 20 min after practice; Day 1-Day 2 group, 10 min and 24 hr after practice; Day 2-Day 2 group, 23 hr 50 min and 24 hr after practice) or one retention test (Day 1-Control group, 20 min after practice; Day 2-Control group, 24 hr after practice). The first test had a deleterious effect on performing the second test for the Day 2-Day 2 group, which would be expected if the task representation was updated and re-encoded at the time of recall using diminished information. This finding suggests that researchers should be cautious about using repeated retention tests that are administered 1 day after practice. In addition, teachers and coaches should consider administering a test under gamelike conditions following practice of a new technique. Otherwise, performance of the new technique may be degraded or perturbed at the time of later performances.     

Human Rights,Identities and Conflict Management: A study of school culture as experienced through classroom relationships

This paper presents the findings of an action research project designed to examine the dynamics of classroom relationships and perceptions of how rights and identities operate in an all boys' comprehensive school in the English West Midlands. The principal aims of the research were to examine the feasibility of adopting a human rights framework as a basis for school life and to evaluate subsequent relationships and identities. The first section of this paper examines the potential of human rights education to promote constructive relationships and manage conflict. It takes the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as its framework for action. We then outline the methodology adopted and consider how the classroom environment affects and is affected by those working within it. We reflect on the expression of identities and understandings of rights and responsibilities in the classroom by both students and teachers and the impact of these understandings and of masculine identities on classroom management. Although we recognise the findings of action research are necessarily situation specific and possibly transient and/or changeable, we draw on these findings to develop a model which may be of value to those seeking to develop schools as human rights communities.     

Self-fulfilling prophecies in media-based learning: Content relevance moderates quality expectation effects on academic achievement

In the present paper a model of self-fulfilling prophecy effects in media-based learning was developed and tested. The central model assumption was that information about an instructional medium's quality affects students' academic achievement depending on the instructional content's relevance to the student. Experiment 1 (N = 100) demonstrated higher achievement in response to positive compared to negative information, but not the predicted moderating effect of content relevance. Using a revised relevance manipulation, Experiment 2 (N = 199) identified the following moderating function of content relevance: Under moderate relevance positive information led to higher achievement, under high relevance negative information resulted in higher achievement. No differences appeared under low relevance. Path analyses revealed students' cognitive effort as significant mediator for these effects.     

Historians of education and social media

Narrowing the focus of existing research on academics’ and historians’ use of digital technologies and social media, this paper considers historians of education and their use of online platforms. It combines a small-scale survey of the self-reflections of historians of education together with personal reflections gained from building the social media presence for the History of Education Society as the inaugural Peter Gosden Fellow. The paper suggests that whilst historians of education are increasingly willing to use social media for networking, sharing and promoting their work and that of others, most continue not to use online platforms in conducting and disseminating their work due to expectations in the academy of publication in traditional forms.     

Who am I and where do I belong? The perception and evaluation of teacher leaders concerning teacher leadership practices and micropolitics in schools

The phenomenon of teachers taking on leadership tasks beyond their classroom duties has become widespread internationally. While presented as a catalyst for educational improvement, it blurs the traditional division between teaching and leading and therefore challenges the conventional professional relationships in schools as well as the professional self-understanding of teacher leaders. This article reports on an exploratory study of the perceptions of teacher leaders in Flemish primary and secondary schools. By conducting semi-structured interviews of 26 teacher leaders, we collected data concerning their tasks and the consequences for both their social–professional relations with teacher colleagues and school leaders and their professional self-understanding. From a micro-political perspective, the results demonstrate how teacher leadership introduces new structures of interactions in schools that makes teacher leaders find themselves continuously juggling between two different agendas of professional interests: obtaining recognition as a teacher leader by their colleagues as well as maintaining their social–professional relationships with their colleagues.     

The importance of a collaborative culture for teachers’ job satisfaction and affective commitment

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Prior research has shown the importance of collaborative culture as well as teacher job satisfaction and commitment in navigating complex school...     

Determinants of bone mineral density in patients on haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis – a cross-sectional,longitudinal study

Introduction:

The aim of the study was to identify biomarkers of alteration in bone mineral density (BMD) in patients on haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Materials and methods:

In a cross-sectional, longitudinal study dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed in 146 HD-patients and 28 PD-patients. Follow-up after 14 months (mean) was conducted in 73 patients. As potential biomarkers we investigated parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxy vitamin-D, ionised calcium, albumin, phosphate, and total alkaline phosphatases (t-ALP).

Results:

Both groups of dialysis patients had lower BMD in the femoral neck (BMD_neck) (P < 0.001) and forearm (BMD_forearm) (P < 0.001) compared to healthy controls, but comparable BMD in the lumbar spine (BMD_spine). BMD did not differ between dialysis types, but patients ever-treated with glucocorticoids had significantly lower BMD, while patients with polycystic kidney disease had higher BMD. BMD correlated with body weight, actual age, age at initiation of dialysis, duration of dialysis and levels of PTH and t-ALP. However, t-ALP only remained associated with low BMD_spine after adjusting for other factors (P = 0.001). In the follow-up study all patients had decreased BMD in all three locations, but only for the lumbar spine there was a significant association between BMD and the bone markers t-ALP (P = 0.009) and PTH (P = 0.013).

Conclusions:

Both HD and PD patients have low BMD, and increased concentrations of t-ALP is associated BMD_spine after adjustment, while PTH and t-ALP is associated with decrease in BMD_spine over time. This substantiates the use of these biomarkers in both types of dialysis patients.     

When forgetting benefits motor retention

Recent research (Lee & Weeks, 1987; Weeks, Lee, & Elliott, 1987) investigating the processes responsible for the contextual interference phenomenon has used a modified short-term motor retention paradigm to support the reconstruction explanation (Lee & Magill, 1985; Magill, 1989; Magill & Hall, 1990). The present experiment was an extension of these experiments in which forgetting of an acquisition task was induced through performance of either a similar or dissimilar distractor task during the intertrial interval. The effects of an extra practice trial with the acquisition task as well as no activity during the intertrial interval were also investigated. In addition, forgetting of the acquisition task was assessed prior to a reconstruction trial, which immediately preceded a 2-min filled retention interval. Both similar and dissimilar distractor tasks caused equivalent amounts of forgetting of the acquisition task prior to the reconstruction trial. However, retention of the acquisition task was significantly improved if its reconstruction occurred following forgetting due to interference from performance of a similar distractor task. These findings suggest forgetting and subsequent reconstruction alone are not sufficient for improved retention. These processes must occur in the context of a similar task for improved retention.     

Summary knowledge of results

Summary knowledge of results (KR) involves delaying the presentation of KR until a predetermined number of trials has been completed. Schmidt, Young, Swinnen, and Shapiro (1989) found an optimal summary length of 15 trials (compared to 1, 5, and 10) and Schmidt, Lange, and Young (1990) found an optimum length of 5 trials (compared to 1, 10, and 15) for 1 and 2 kinematic degree of freedom timing tasks, respectively. Experiment 1 was designed to determine the optimal summary length for learning a simple isometric force production task. The results indicated better retention for the 16-trial summary than for 8- or 1-trial summaries. Experiment 2 was an initial attempt to determine the locus of the 16-trial summary effect. Specifically, Experiment 2 focused on the role played by both the information provided in the summary presentations and the practice per se of the first 14 trials in the 16-trial block. The results suggest KR is important to ensure response stability. However, it also appears important to restrict the subject's immediate utilization of KR. This latter requirement may potentially aid the parameterization process, resulting in a reduction in response bias.